Log Horizon: The Sword of Liberty
by Zikari8
Summary: Shiroe and the gang have Japan covered but what about the American Server? Follow Akama and Rildeo in the Land of Wen as they must survive the aftermath of the "Armageddon". But it won't be easy as corruption and evil leaks through many powerful players and foes. The two will have to gather allies and work together to overcome the evil. Basically an OC story. T just in case.
1. Chapter 1: Armageddon

**Diclaimer: Log Horizon and everything that it is related to belongs to their own respective owner. The only thing I own is the idea for this story and almost all characters that appear in it. Have fun while reading! :)**

**Quick warning by the way. The real life equivalent of this story's setting is New York. I don't live in New York. I'm not even american. If I make some sort of cultural mistake please forgive me.**

* * *

Akama turned another corner and found himself by a giant river. Green moss covered the land beneath him and he was on what seemed to be a long abandoned road next to the river. Stumbling a bit farther, he moved along to the very bank of the river so that he could sit down and consider his situation.

His head was a mess as countless thoughts, questions and concerns flew by, competing with each other to take a larger part of his brain. However among all of that, one question was the most prevalent:

"Where am I?"

As he thought this, he could tell that he wasn't the only one thinking that. Along the bank of the river, there were several other shadows, screaming and moaning.

"What the f*** is happening?"

"Help! Somebody help me!"

"God, this is the first time I've prayed to you. But please, save me!"

"Where's the admin? Explain this!"

The screams came out like an angry protest. He felt like he was in the middle of a crowd that had found out that the entire country was being sold to China.

Seeing them all made him want to burst into screams for help and agony but that seemed ridiculous so he restrained the desire.

(I can move my body… but it feels a bit weird. I can walk faster and I feel stronger)

Behind him were long abandoned ruins and in front of him was a giant river with a faraway island that had a giant statue of a lady, dressed in a magnificent robe and holding a staff.

There was no doubt about it.

This was the city known as "Big Apple" and the statue was the "Mother of Liberty".

These two things were something that he was accustomed to seeing almost daily now. But not through his naked eyes. He saw them through his computer screen and through his favorite online game: Elder Tales.

The Big Apple was like a giant medieval ruin. Its buildings were all large multi-storied towers, but they had all crumbled after long time of misuse and were now home to vigor vines and moist moss. On each of them were colorful signs that had once been operated to advertise the contents of the massive stores such as "Nacdonalds, S-mart or Worst Buy". The streets were covered as usual by people wearing medieval armor, though they were all either screaming for help or sulking in despair. This active, giant and fantasy-like city was Big Apple, the starting city for the American server of Elder Tales.

But Elder Tales was a game and what he was seeing was definitely real. So what was happening?

(Have I been sucked into a game? Isn't that too anime-like?)

Elder Tales was actually a long-running title, boasting a 20-year history. Of course, its contents and game engine were replaced with the latest version by frequent software updates, but its abundance of data and deep game traditions accumulated from its long operation were the things winning the popularity of its users.

Today should have been the day to commemorate the release of the 12th expansion pack of Elder Tales. The data he had downloaded beforehand would be lifted from its restriction and would bring about new items, new zones, new monsters and battles, and, above all else, raise the level cap of the world of Elder Tales.

Today was also the very day the expansion pack was brought live, so there should be a great number of players connected to the game world. From the immense density of people he had seen in the city earlier, this was probably true.

Akama was frankly, a long-time player of Elder Tales. He had been playing since middle-school, so he boasted the highest level of 90, though it was shared with about half of the player community.

But that was just in a game. In real life, there wasn't magic or monsters or a dangling menu screen that he could see if he focused or health bars or mana or spells or…

He took a breath to cleanse his thoughts as he felt his mind overheat. The air here was cleaner than in the real world and the lack of pollution was a rare treat for his lungs.

(First things first, being alone in a crisis is bad. I should find someone to partner up with. And if its partners…)

As if answering his train of thought, a ringtone sounded off in his head, signaling a telepathic call from one his friends. He immediately checked it and was relieved as he saw the name.

_Incoming friend call:_

_Rildeo_

(Damn good timing as always…)

* * *

"You're late."

"Shut it. Running here took longer than in game."

Akama replied to the sharp response of his best friend, Rildeo.

Rildeo was his childhood friend, a buddy he had been with since grade school. They started the game together and though they sometimes separated to do different quests, they usually always stuck together since they knew each other best.

Rildeo was dressed in dark blue robes and had blonde hair. He was relatively tall and an elf in the game, seen by his pointy ears.

By the way, Akama was dressed in bright red and black cloth and had black hair. In real life, his hair was brown but he decided to let his avatar be black haired.

"So? What are your thoughts?"

"On?"

"What else? This whole situation, you star-struck idiot."

Akama giggled as Rildeo criticized him as usual. He found solace in this everyday bicker that seemed so far away now that they were in this foreign land.

"Well? What can I say? This whole thing seems ridiculous. I would think I'm in a dream, but my dreams usually involve me rolling in naked women."

"That's disgusting, you pervert. But really though, this is nerve-wrecking. I mean, if you look around you can see people holding magic staves and swords."

Magic staves and swords were common weapons in fantasy games but seeing them real close was another thing. Thinking that one of them could easily kill you was enough to scare off a veteran soldier. It was like being in a war camp, surrounded by the grizzled soldier's fierce guns.

The only place you could find these ridiculous weapons would be in a roleplay shop.

"I look like a bloody role-player. And here I thought cosplay was your thing."

"Now that you mention it, you look the same. You don't look exactly like your avatar."

"You too, though your hair is still black. Why did you even set it like that?"

"Duh. Cause it fit with my image."

Akama cried out, though it was in vain. Stuck-up pricks like Rildeo wouldn't understand true fashion anyways.

"More importantly, Ridleo, let's get back on topic. Tell me everything, wise sage."

"I'd love to but even I'm dumbstruck. I mean, this is something that nothing could prepare me for. However, there might be something I missed…"

Ridleo sat down onto a crooked bench and started his "thinker pose". Akama slightly smiled as he knew that his buddy was always reliable when he started thinking.

"First of all… this isn't a dream. I'm a light sleeper so I always stay somewhat conscious as I sleep. My mind is without a doubt fully immersed in this world. Of course, if you don't trust me, I can drop you off from a cliff. The shock might wake you up."

"No, I'm fine, thank you."

Akama was nodding along as Rildeo thought over the situation carefully.

"Second, this is without a doubt the world of Elder Tales. Have you seen the status screen?"

Nodding, Akama once again focused on his status screen, looking at the data he could see.

_Akama-Adventurer-Lv. 90_

_HP: 12789_

_MP: 7732_

Since Elder Tales was a game, the strength, stamina and all sorts of abilities were represented in the form of numbers. All sorts of commands in the game were input through the menu.

There were no such game-related screens anywhere you looked in this world. If you focused on your forehead region, the world would present a translucent status screen displaying all sorts of values and graphs. By controlling the cursor with your mind, you could perform all sorts of action.

Akama got a hang of the controls after a few minutes but it was hard and gave him a migraine.

There also was a telepathy function, similar to the friend calls from the game. You could call anyone on your friend list which you could find through your status screen.

As he thought about this, Akama abruptly came up with a thought.

"Wait, are the others on? Are any of our friends here with us?"

"Gimme a sec to check my friends list. Um… Ethan is offline. I remember he said that he had to go to cram school today so he should be safe at home."

"I guess that's good for him. Let's hope he stays safe."

Ethan was another one of their buddies that they only knew for a few months. But he played the game too and was a decent assassin. Hopefully, he would notice something wrong and not recklessly get sucked into this world like them.

"What about our in-game friends?"

"Well today was the day of the patch so most of them are on. Of our closer friends, Nemoto is off but Umineko is online. If I remember, she was down in the south, questing."

"I'll call her."

Umineko was a female player that was a friend of theirs. She was a good cleric that had been friends with them since the level 30's. She was a timid player that didn't have the courage to speak with in-game voice-chat and instead communicated through the text-chat. Well, people that used text-chat were somewhat common so it wasn't a big deal to him, especially since Umineko was a fast typer. He couldn't count the amount of times that her heals had saved his hide.

Focusing on his head to scroll down his own friend list and call her, he used a considerable amount of concentration. As the beeping sound of the call started to ring, he realized he was making a mean squint because of his concentration. He'd have to work on moving that cursor so he could do it without scaring anyone nearby…

"Wha?"

"What's wrong?"

"She declined the call…"

Akama was clearly surprised as he was sent a message stating that his call had been declined.

"Hmm… well she's probably pretty shocked right now. She might not want to really talk to anyone. Let's leave her alone for now and move on."

Rildeo, however, was staying calm and decided to keep a straight focus on their goal.

"Do you have any idea why we have been brought here, wherever this place is?"

The calm youth asked as he crossed his legs. Out of everything so far, this was probably the most important question.

"Yeah, I don't know and I doubt anyone else does."

But of course, Akama had no answer to the sharp question.

"To begin with, dude, we don't have any real info. If anything, the only person that might know would be a game master or admin, but since none has come out after all the screaming in the plaza, I think they're off on more than a lunch break."

"I'm surprised you're even able to think that clearly, Akama. I have two theories to what might have happened."

"Heh, I know right. I'm smarter than I loo- Wait, what? You're damn quick, bro."

Akama jumped back in surprise. He knew that Rildeo was a fast thinker but he didn't expect for his best friend to be able to think of any possibilities that might've happened to them.

(I might have to start thinking of him in a better light)

"Calm down, it's not that big of a thing. They're very simple theories but here's how I see it. There are two possibilities that might have caused this situation: One, the world has been changed to resemble that of Elder Tales, the more gruesome theory. If this is the case than everything we knew has been deleted and replaced with this magical fantasy."

"That's surprisingly dark…"

If possible, Akama would've liked to not think about the fact that his entire everyday life had been erased just like that.

"If this is the case though, we are presented with the questions of how the world was changed and why? What happened to everyone else that was not an online Elder Tales Player? Is there a way to change everything back? These are the things that accompany my first theory."

Akama could only listen, unable to provide any valuable feedback.

"My second theory is that we've slipped into an alternate universe that is just like that of Elder Tales. This theory also comes with its bundle of questions though, as you'd have to ask what happened to the versions of us that belong in this world. Why did we get pulled into this world? Are the rules of this world the same as the one we knew? Do alternate universes even exist?"

"So there's no easy answer… Ah, let's not do this right now. Thinking about this whole thing makes my head hurt."

"Agreed. I don't want you to lose anymore brain cells. You're lacking quite a few already."

Stopping the intense theories, the two took a second to look at each other, before awkwardly smiling.

In a crisis, things can become chaotic. You don't know what is happening, why it's happening and you feel like the world is ending. Akama had gone through a pretty easy life with very few troubles, but every time things became even a bit rough, Rildeo had his back. It was weird, really, to think that this sharp, criticizing smart-ass had such a positive effect on the young man's life.

Rildeo, as well, seemed considerably more comfortable in the situation than before. He stood up, getting off of the crooked bench, pumped up for some action.

"So, before I tell you what I think is our best next plan, do you have anything to add?"

"Woah, you've already thought of a plan? You're a genius, Richard."

"Of course, I am. Also, don't call me by my real name here, Aaron."

Akama scratched his chin as he thought of anything that was clearly a problem.

Well… he was sucked into this weird place, akin to another world. He might never be able to see his family again. He'd never be able to go back to school, sleep in class, hang around at the arcade, be awkward around his highschool crush, stop by the burger joint he always went to, battle his sister over the tv remote… he was losing all of these things that he treasured. He might never be able to go back. His life might as well be over as he was now basically starting a new one in a new world. Is this what it was like to lose things precious to you? And worst of all…

"I can't watch anime here."

"You know, I thought you were seriously depressed for a second there, you bloody weaboo."

"I thought I told you, I am not a weaboo. I am a full-blooded Otaku."

Well, there was nothing he could do about the things he was losing. He'd have time to grieve later. Right now, survival in this foreign world was most important.

"Alright, listen up, you fake-taku. The best thing we can do right now is getting used to this world. There should be boundless differences between this world and the real one. Being able to move and live normally might be the key to any emergency we face later."

"I guess you're right. It's a bit weird moving in a stronger body. And if we end up fighting later, we'd need to know how to perform combat. I've never swung a real sword in real life so this will be a first…"

Akama's mind started to begin filling with all the game info he knew. Skills, zones, mobs, gold, classes, stats… How would all this apply to this new world?

"And one last thing I need to question."  
"What is it?"

"I wonder… if we die here, do we die for real?"

Akama's eyes widened as Rildeo finished his question. How could he forget such a simple question?

In the game Elder Tales, one could revive at the cost of losing some EXP. Of course, if you died in a game and couldn't play it anymore, it would be really saddening, so the revival system is important. But did that apply to this new world?

"So that's why, Akama, I have to ask you to do something for me. Please don't do anything reckless. I don't want my best friend dying in this twisted world."

"Yeah… thanks for the concern, bud."

* * *

Rildeo was, quite frankly, an introvert.

In real life, he never had many friends. He was the type of person that would hide in corners while everyone else busily went along with their life. He wasn't athletic, overly smart or active in any club. To everyone else, he was just that nerd that would sit in the corner of the classroom reading. Give Mr. Corner or Dr. Shadow a personality and they would be popular mascots for introverts everywhere.

By 3rd grade, he had accepted this fate. He was almost non-existent to everyone else, not standing out in anything. He had just started playing Elder Tales back then, interested in how much of his vast free time he could spend on the game.

Being lonely wasn't bad. In fact, for him, it was the seemingly best option. He didn't have to bother with keeping any social appearances, or spend spine-breaking time working on an extra-curricular activity. He wasn't a social person and he was fine with that. Bright, energetic youths might as well be the social ideal, spending their time trudging along the sunny path. But did that mean that loners, who have carved their own dark corner of life, were wrong? No, of course not! He could find solace in the lonesome of his, reading or playing video games.

Yet, his one-man army, his stand-alone brigade, his lone wolf-pack ended on that one unmemorable day.

"Yo, dude. Can you lend me some change? I left my lunch at home."

These were the exact words that the young, grade-school Akama said to Rildeo, whom nobody ever bothered to talk to. It was childish, selfish, rude and cocky. But it ended up starting a friendship like many other…

"You know why I'm sad that Umineko isn't here, Rildeo?"

"What?"

These two best friends were joyfully chatting as they made their way to one of the nearby low level zones, where they could try and get some combat experience. Rildeo's avatar was shorter than his real life counterpart so he found a bit of trouble in walking. It was like suddenly losing your head, looking through a much shorter camera instead. The ground seemed so close and he felt honestly weak, despite his supposedly stronger fantasy body.

"We don't have any chicks man. Look at us; we're just two dudes walking around together. We gay or something?"

"Can you refrain from summoning such nasty thoughts? An image of that just appeared in my head and I feel like puking."

Rildeo had to take care of the childish Akama since they were children. He knew him best and also knew all the annoying parts of him, such as his weird love for Japanese culture, or his obsession with old currency or how he always had to eat with chopsticks, despite not knowing how.

But as they passed the border of the city, his mind drifted from thoughts of Akama's stupidity to the current situation.

"Akama, you can hit on girls later. First of all, try hitting a monster."

"I like what you did there. Alright, leave this to me!"

The zone they had just entered was right next to Big Apple, a small forest area. It was about 2 km in radius so it wasn't too hard to navigate. Since it would be difficult for beginners to face high-level monsters after starting, the nearby areas were filled with very low level monsters. And of course, the ones they ended up facing were extremely low leveled too.

"Green Boars, huh? Isn't that a bit weak?"

"There's no such thing as too much caution. Besides, this is just to practice our movements and skills."

The monsters that they immediately found were a herd of Lv. 2 Green Boars. Green Boars were weak swine monsters that had green fur. There was nothing really special about them though and were seen as a base monster.

Immediately, Akama walked forward and unsheathed his blade. Probably holding back, he was using a cheap basic katana instead of his usual high-level sword. Grasping the blade, he focused on one of the boars and began his attack.

"Take this! Sure-fire Ultimate Sword Attack!"

He was screaming as he charged the beast and started slashing wildly at it.

Akama's class was Samurai. The Samurai were a warrior class that had high defense and was known for using Japanese-themed equipment, suitable for the weaboo that Akama was. It was tanky but lacked a shield so it wasn't the ultimate defense. Despite this, most players used the samurai as a versatile tank, attracting its enemies with taunts and holding them off while his teammates used their powerful attacks.

Well, Akama's not exactly known for being orthodox-

"Dammit, pig! Come here and become my bacon!"

Akama was ridiculously shouting as he chased the Green Boar around the area. He was having an expected amount of trouble and should be occupied for a while.

"If he's playing around with pigs, then I might as well too."

Rildeo stated and started focusing on his status screen. He had taken almost half an hour earlier to get the controls for the cursor down, and even now he was having trouble. Scrolling down the skill list to find the skill he needed was harder than he thought. In real combat, he wouldn't have the luxury to do this. He'd have to find a way to shorten the process.

After a short toil, he found the spell he wanted and selected it with his mind.

"Summon Follower: Armored Boar."

Following his spell, an array of light appeared underneath his feet and blue particles flew out from it. The blue particles came together like specks of dust and formed a large boar that was covered in steel armor.

"Hey, Old pal. Looks like spells work after all. I guess a plus to this whole situation is that I can talk to you guys and not look as stupid."

Rildeo smiled as the boar formed and started to pet its cold, steel armor.

Rildeo's class was Summoner, one of the three mage classes. They were known for their ability to summon monsters that could aid them in battle. Each monster had different abilities which made the Summoner a very versatile class, making it a popular choice with solo players. He began the game by himself, without Akama, so he chose the solo mentality of Summoner. Back then, the puny monsters that he summoned were his only friends.

"Rildeeeeeoooo… I'm back… Woah! Hey, its good ol' Armored Boar. You managed to summon him?"

"Yeah, through some hard work though. How was it on your side?"

"Mn. Fighting is hard. You actually have to swing the sword as you attack. And then when the boar turned and fought me, it was hella scary. I know I'm level 90 but those tusks feel like they could pierce my body."

Rildeo nodded as he listened to Akama, unsummoning the boar. As he thought, fighting in person was hard, especially when facing monsters that seem so frightening up close. Tusks, claws, flames, swords… even if one's mind knew that they wouldn't hurt as much, one's instinct would be that they could do irreparable damage.

"What about you, Ril?"  
"I tried using skills. They work but take longer than I would like. I'll have to find a way to shorten the time. This will be even more important for you, since you might have to use skills while also trading blows with an enemy."

"Ah, there's so much to consider… But there's time and nothing to really do. I guess we'll get better with practice."

"Yeah… we can practice. But I'm worried… we're out here training but how will everyone else react?"

Rildeo couldn't help but feel unease as he looked back at the giant city. Others might not be as calm as he was. They might desperately look for info, recklessly train, fall into despair or, worst of all, break into a riot.

There was very little information as what must be tens of thousands of people were sent into a foreign world. If something wasn't done, things might get bad…

(But what can I do?)

Rildeo was just a lone player. Sure his stats were pretty good and he was pretty experienced but he had very little real power. In fact, he wasn't even in a guild, since he preferred partying with Akama. If he wanted to help out… he'd have to seek out someone with some real power.

"Hey, Akama, mind if we don't train for a bit. I have someone I want to talk to…"

* * *

"You know, Rildeo, it's rare that you'd want to talk to me. I thought you might have wanted to chat with me and help comfort the tragic situation that we've all been put in. Instead, you come here, barging in with your serious face, demanding a conference. How is my timid heart supposed to react to such an abrupt and solemn tone that you bring to me?"

"Cut the small-talk, Dorian. You should know that your smooth tongue doesn't work on me."

Akama could only nervously sip his tea, which tasted like tap water, as he watched the scene unfold before him.

Right now, the two youths were sitting on the top floor of the guild building of the top guild, the "DxD brigade". The DxD brigade was a famous guild known all over the American servers for its size and number of achievements. Boasting a formidable size of about 3,000 members, the brigade had a similarly large history of 12 years. Furthermore, in these 12 years, the guild had racked so many raid quests that one would think that it was comprised of earth-walking gods.

They were in one of the executive offices in the divinely expensive guild building, which could house thousands of players. It was a dozen meters wide and elegantly furnished. At the head of the room was a desk made out of fine wood, facing two similarly elegant chairs. Behind the desk were bookshelves, filled with magical books and tomes. Most impressively though, was the chair behind the desk, where the owner could comfortably sit. If Akama was correct, it was made of Holy Cedar wood, a super rare item that could only be obtained through the raid quest "March of the Ancient Dead". It was additionally crafted with gold and diamonds to make its luster shine magnificently. The whole thing was probably worth tens of thousands of gold.

The man sitting in front of them, calmly gulping down the tea despite its bland taste, was Dorian, the head of the brigade's 3rd battle division. He was a top-class Sorcerer, well experienced in the many monsters that could be found in dungeons. However, Rildeo and him have some bad history.

"You're cold hearted as always, Rildeo. Remember when we used to party together? I will never understand why you and Akama here decided to leave us."

"We left cause we didn't feel like this was the right place for us, no harsh meaning behind it."

As mentioned, the two of them were part of the DxD brigade once. They stopped in middle school because Akama had decided that being in a guild was too troublesome. However, he felt like, even if he didn't decide so, Rildeo might have quit because of how much he started to dislike it.

"Yes, yes, the same old excuses. Very well, I suppose that will suffice as always. So? Why are you here?"

"Glad that we're back on track. I'm here for a very simple reason really. I just wanted to ask how the DxD brigade is responding to the situation."

"We're worried about the city, afterall."

Akama managed to chime in a few words, but even just speaking felt hard. The tension was thick in the room and he wondered if he was the only one feeling it.

Looking over at Dorian's assistant, standing in the corner, he realized that he wasn't.

"Oh yes, this horrible situation. Did you know that people are calling it "Armageddon"? It's really horrid and I shiver at what might happen."

"Which is exactly why I came to you. How is the DxD brigade trying to help the situation?"

Akama could feel Rildeo's persistence on the matter. Depending on Dorian's answer, he might end up exploding in a fit of anger.

His best friend really did have trouble with his emotions in heated moments…

"Oh that's really simple. We're doing all we can. First of all, we're trying to recruit some newbies into our guild. Some players had just started afterall, so we would like to do all we can to help them."

"A reasonable response. I'll have to hand it to your guys for that. I hadn't thought of the new players."

Akama hung his head down in shame for a bit.

(Ah, how could I be so stupid to forget the new players?)

But before the young man could bash himself with shame some more, the conversation continued on without stopping.

"Yes, it would be horrible for the inexperienced to be stuck in such a situation. I especially am scared for the kids, who must be frightened out of their wits. I'd love to just hug them and tell them that it'd all be okay."

"Well, that's good of you. But what about the experienced players? Any movement for them?"

"Well, my boy, we really haven't done much in terms of that. The veterans don't really need our help; they know what they're doing."

"What? But there are so many possibilities that could end up in worst-case scenarios. What if they recklessly go out and end up dying?"

"What can we do about that? We're not the police or anything; we don't have a reason to help them. We're too busy doing what we can. If they end up dying, is it really our fault?"

The two youths were instantly silenced. They were wide-eyed at Dorian's logic, his utter lack of care for the other players and his immoral but somehow sound logic.

Right now, the world was filled with chaos and confusion. Was it really someone's fault for looking after themselves first, before others? In fact, the brigade was even above that: helping out the beginners.

(Since the crisis, we were really just looking out for ourselves too, learning how to move in this world. Do we really have the right to criticize others?)

With these kinds of thoughts in mind, the two stopped and just looked at the ground in reflection for a few seconds. Noticing this, Dorian considered his point made.

"Well, if this was all you came for, you got the information you wanted. Now if you excuse me, I'm a little busy. The boss wanted me to go over all the new members."

With a slightly self-reassured look on his face, Dorian got up and headed for the door.

Akama could only watch him leave in pity as they seemed to have gotten very little done…

"Wait!"  
Abruptly, Rildeo shouted out, stopping Dorian in his tracks. The young summoner stood up and faced the sorcerer.

"I have a question. You guys are actually finding the "Armaggedon", as you say, useful aren't you? You get heaps of new members and all your rivals are in chaos. Could it be that the DxD brigade is trying to capitalize off of the current crisis?"

All sound disappeared in that second. Akama and Dorian's assistant could only stare wide-eyed at Rildeo's bold accusation. Time flickered by as silence came over the room. The air was so still yet Akama could feel the teacup in his hands shake.

"You know, my dear, Rildeo, nobody likes a smart-ass."

Leaving these words, Dorian promptly left the room.

Silence once again took over and the assistant awkwardly bowed before exiting. Akama was left staring at Rildeo, watching the door that Dorian had left through. To a normal person, Rildeo might have seemed alright, serene even, but to the well-trained eyes of Akama, he could see the deep emotions that were harboring in his best friend: Pure uncensored rage.

"Bloody twat!"

Rildeo kicked the chair that he had been sitting in out of anger, causing it to fly across the wide room and smashing into the wall, breaking the fragile expensive wood into pieces.

"Come on, Akama. I can't stand to be in this building any longer."

"Yes-a-roo!"

Swiftly descending the stairs, the two rush out of the building, attracting the stares of many people. On their way down, they saw a large group of kids, the newbies that Dorian mentioned.

Only once they were out did Ridleo speak again.

"Alright, Akama, let's review what we learned."

"Oh okay. Um… let's see… The DxD brigade is trying to use the "Armageddon" to boost their power and they serve some really bland tea. Either they use bad tea leaves or food doesn't have taste in this world."

"Right, we'll experiment with food after this. Also, we need to find a place to stay and sleep. After dinner and securing a base, we'll go back to training. Tighten your heart; we'll be really busy for the next few days."

"Yosh!"

As the two hurriedly dashed away from the guild building, they only saw the mass amount of stuff ahead of them. It was making Akama a bit giddy-hearted.

(Alright, I'll have to work hard.)

Just as they were about to march towards the marketplace to test the taste theory, Rildeo abruptly stopped in his tracks.

"One more thing, Akama…"

"What's up?"

"Well… thanks for leaving the DxD brigade. I didn't think I'd be able to stand that place any longer. So yeah… thanks bro…"

"…No prob, bro."

And so began the fight for the two of them.

* * *

Character Info:

Name: Rildeo

Race: Elf

Class: Summoner

HP: 7506

MP: 14034

Item 1: Grimoire of the Ancients

An Ancient-level book that has been passed down through generations of holy sages. Its pages contain ancient texts that are said to grant their reader enlightenment. Despite its old age, the grimoire looks brand new due to its magical power. Significantly decreases cast time.

Item 2: Hood of the Fleeting Dream

A cloak used exclusively by mages, made from the dreams of young adventurers. It can only be obtained through the "Full raid" Quest: Night Waltz in Wonderland. Its special ability absorbs the thoughts of its wearer and boosts Phantasmal-based spells.

Item 3: White Weasel Necklace

A necklace made out of the tooth of a White Weasel. It is a little weak for Rildeo's level, but it was a birthday present from Akama, so he treasures it deeply.

* * *

**Author's Quick Afterword:**

**Hello, this is Zikari8 here, the author to Log Horizon: The Sword of Liberty. I'm a relatively bad author that has very little experience so I'll have to ask you to pardon me if you do not like my story. It has been ages since I wrote anything and I feel like anyone that has favorited any of my stories deserves to burn me on a stake. But a writer is a fickle man so this time I'm writing a new story on the slightly popular anime: Log Horizon. I hope you liked this first chapter and anticipate the next one... which will be coming out when I feel like it. Bye! XD**


	2. Chapter 2: Suzu

**Diclaimer: Log Horizon and everything that it is related to belongs to their own respective owner. The only thing I own is the idea for this story and almost all characters that appear in it. Have fun while reading! :)**

**Warning: This chapter may contain dark adult themes not suited for certain audiences. Viewer Discretion is definitely advised.**

* * *

In Elder Tales, the North American Server was known as the land of Wen. This was the region personally managed by the parent company of Elder Tales, Atharva Inc. Because of this, it housed the largest amount of players and had the largest amount of zones.

Lore-wise, the server was split into different large political regions. In the east was the League of Thirteen Nations, which housed Big Apple. In the west there were the Mid-West Dukedom, house of another starting point, South Angel, the Oregan County, and the Texan Domain. To the north was the Great Kingdom of Victoria. And finally, nestled right between these many lands was the Louisia Empire.

* * *

"I can't stand this anymore!"

Suzu screamed out loud as she ran out of the building into the large city known as Big Apple. Her feet pounded on the mossy concrete under her as she ran as fast as she could from that cursed building.

It had been 4 days since the "Armageddon". Suzu was a level 35 player, just under the classification of a mid-level player. She hadn't been playing the game for long, maybe a few months, but she liked it so she played regularly. When the Novasphere Pioneer Patch came out, she had been super pumped up and secluded herself in her room for the day so she could marathon the game for 24 hours straight. Yet, she ended up sealing her own fate, being trapped into this nightmarish world.

(If I had known this would've happened, I would've just gone shopping with my friends.)

In the chaos of the Armageddon, she had met up with a small guild. She was thankful for their comforting words and the security they offered her so she had stayed with them for the past few days. However, it turned out that they were all just cowards, holing up in their guild hall, sulking and drowning in self-pity. After 4 days, she could no longer stand the grim atmosphere and ran away.

(I don't need them. I can take care of myself fine.)

After running for maybe 5 minutes, her body started getting tired and she promptly stopped. She panted, taking deep breaths of the cold refreshing air that she had been unable to breath in that cursed guild hall. Feeling the cold wind on her cheeks, the sounds of the adventurers wandering the city, the moist moss under her feet and the sight of the nearby monster zones made her uncontrollably happy.

"I knew it, freedom truly is the best thing ever. Isn't this what it means to be American?"

She smiled as she stretched, enjoying the good weather of the outdoors. The freedom of the outdoors was brilliant and heart-warming.

(I'm glad that I belong to the most free country in the world, though now I'm stuck in this god forsaken game…)

At that moment, Suzu did not know that the country with the most freedom currently was actually Hong Kong and that the U.S.A. was only the 12th most free country…

* * *

"Well, okay. I'll see you when you come back."

During the past few days, Akama and Rildeo had been training like mad in the nearby zones. They were finally getting used to the new controls, so much so that they could take on Level 30 monsters now. Today, they were about to challenge a low-level dungeon to see if they could properly function in long battles, but were having lunch beforehand.

While he ate his lunch, Akama had once again tried to contact Umineko, and this time his call went through.

"What did she say?"

"Well… She said that she was currently staying at one of the NPC towns but is coming back by horse as we speak. She'll probably be here tomorrow."

"I see… Well, it'll be nice for us if we can gain another member."

Party-wise, Rildeo truly hoped for Umineko to be able to join them. With Akama and Rildeo, they had one tank and one dps which was good but that also meant that they lacked proper support.

The basic set-up for a party in any MMORPG should be one tank, one dps and one support. The tank would absorb the damage from the enemies, the dps could deal massive amounts of damage, and the support made sure that both of them could work at their full potential. Each role was crucial to the survival of the team so lacking one of them also meant that their team was weak.

There were 12 classes in Elder Tales, which could be split into 4 categories that correspond with the three roles that have just been mentioned. The first group is the Warrior-classes: Guardian, Monk, and Samurai. They are the tanks, using their high defenses to absorb damage, they fight on the front-line, protecting their allies from the enemy attacks.

The second group of classes is the Weapon-classes: Swashbuckler, Assasin, and Bard. These fought on the front-mid lines, using their high close-combat damage as DPS. The third group of classes is the Mage-classes: Sorcerer, Summoner, and Enchanter. They were also DPS, but used magic to attack from the mid-rear line. Although their maximum power was less than the Weapon-classes, the range and ability to use elements made them very effective.

Finally, there were the Healer-classes: Cleric, Druid and Kannagi. All three could heal and support their allies with an assortment of spells. Their importance is not negligible as they keep the team running which is important, especially in long term battles such as dungeon fights. It was once said that in a battle, the one with a better healer would almost always win.

Of course, these classes weren't restricted to playing a single role. Enchanters and Bards could be support, Monks could be DPS or Druids could fight on the front-line. There was a lot of flexibility with each class that kept the game from being boring.

The maximum amount of players in a party was 6, which allowed for a rather large amount of possible class combinations. The most popular part set-up was 1 Warrior, 2 Weapon-user, 1 Mage, and 2 Healers, allowing for a good balance of front-line and back-line power as well as plenty of support.

(But maybe aiming for six people in our party is a little too much. With Umineko back, we'll at least have the basic three roles down. Maybe recruiting a weapon-user would be best… though I could also see the benefit of a second healer…)

As Rildeo scoured his brain, thinking of what kind of players he should try to recruit to their group, Akama sourly ate the tasteless chicken in front of him.

The discovery that food didn't have taste in this world didn't hit the two too hard as they had somewhat suspected it when they drank the tea at Dorian's office. However, that didn't mean they didn't lament the loss of taste. They had literally cried during their first meal as they bitterly ate the tasteless meal that they had bought. They needed to eat to keep themselves from starving but with each bite they would only fall more and more into despair.

"Rildeo… hurry up and find a way to bring us home. I want to eat the ramen at Ningyo Sushi."

"I'll try my best. For now, let's go. Pack up the leftovers so we can eat them if we get hungry in the dungeon."

The two immediately stood up, ready to head off for the dungeon. However, the sudden movement wasn't without any consequences as Akama ended up accidently bumping shoulders with another player in an everyday accident.

"Oi, watch where you're standing."

"Sorry, that was an accident."

For any normal person, that apology would've been enough. However, the person Akama had bumped into didn't seem as forgiving.

"Oi, what's with that smug look on your face? You looking down on me?"

"Chill out, dude. I'm not doing anything wrong."

"Chill out my ass. You just bumped into me and now you're disrespecting me."

"No, I'm not. Calm down, it was an accident."

Rildeo looked at the thug, analyzing him and his friends behind him.

Judging from his gear, the thug was an assassin that was about level 80. He had a short blade for a weapon, a common choice for high-level assassins. His friends behind him numbered three: a sorcerer, a Kannagi and a Guardian. They are all about the same level.

(If it came down to a fight…)

On a side note, by the second day after the Armageddon, one of the players had finally fallen under the pressure of the new world and tried to commit suicide. Unfortunately (?), he revived at the Cathedral proving that the respawn system still worked. After that, others had become more willing to go out and be more active since they knew they wouldn't die. Of course, that also meant that people would hesitate less when picking fights since they knew they wouldn't actually murder their opponents.

"As if. You wanna fight? I'll kill you!"

"No, I don't want to fight. How are you making all these assumptions?"

"Don't look down on me! I'll rip you to pieces!"

The assassin slowly started to draw his sword, seemingly following up his threat.

Looking up, Rildeo could see a blue light floating above them. It was the blue orb that would summon a Royal Guard to come if a fight started inside of the city.

(If he actually attacks, the Royal Guard will stop it. Akama can take the hit, so it should be fine.)

"Die, you bastard!"

"Stop, Friedrich."

Just as the assassin pulled out his blade to try to kill Akama, the sorcerer abruptly reached out his hand, pulling the thugs arm back.

"We're in the city right now. Any unnecessary violence will just get you killed."

Speaking these two sentences, the sorcerer let go of the assassin's hand deeming that his command was sufficient.

The assassin dropped his arm, looking back and forth between his friend's stern gaze and Akama's idiotic face. After maybe 5 seconds, he sheathed his blade and spat in Akama's face.

"Consider yourself lucky. I'll get you next time."

Leaving these few words, the four of them left silently.

"The chaos has settled down but now the security's getting worse. If something doesn't happen, all law and order might disappear…"

Akama finally said after a short silence, while wiping off the saliva on his face. He seemed pretty unfazed after the incident, which Rildeo had to applaud. If it was him, he might have gone and hit the thug first.

"You know, Akama. You're a really calm guy."

"Really? I think you're just emotional. In a good way though."

The two friends looked at each other in a moment of fraternal compassion.

"Is your "you-know-what" okay?"

"Yeah, but I haven't gotten used to it yet. It'll take a while."

Akama grinned to show that he was fine, wiping off the spit that had gotten into his eye. Seeing that Akama was okay, Rildeo decided to get back on track.

"Alright, let's make up for lost time. We'll be heading to the dungeon in Boila Forest and hopefully return in the evening."

"Right-o!"

* * *

"Here we are…"

Suzu finally arrived at the zone that she usually used for farming. It was the Boila Forest, a large zone that was somewhat far away from Big Apple. It housed several beast and plant monsters, which were around level 30. Inside at the center of the forest was a mid-level dungeon with pretty good loot so it was popular with mid-level players. However, since after the Armageddon, most people didn't want to go too far from the city, the place was basically barren.

For the level 35 Suzu, this was the perfect farming zone so she hung around it often. However, that was with other party members. Usually, fighting by yourself was already suicide as you'd be losing a lot of power that being with another person allows. However, Suzu was also a Druid.

Druids were one of the three healer classes. They used the power of nature to fight, allowing a number of offensive and defensive spells along with the ability to heal. This variety and balance makes it a popular choice and very powerful class. When battling in a forest, a Druid is an indispensable power-up that can help the team severely. However, this was only in a team. By itself, a druid was very weak.

(It should be okay… I'll just keep my distance and use my ranged attacks to pick off the enemies…)

Suzu gripped the wooden staff in her hands as she went a little bit more into the forest. She nervously took each step at a time, cautiously looking around her. It was a basic tactic to be able to find your enemy before they find you. If one could see and analyze their opponent before the fight began it would give them a huge advantage.

After maybe a minute or so of walking, she found her first monster: A single lvl. 31 Roger Rabbit. The Roger Rabbit was a rabbit monster that was about 1 feet tall. It had white fur and simple attacks. It was pretty high stat-wise but made up for it with a lack of complex attack patterns.

Encountering the monster, Suzu quickly surveyed her surroundings, which she had learnt to do in the few months she played the game. They were in a small outing that had no real trees in it: a circle of ten meters in the middle of the forest like a small boxing ring for battle.

"Come at me rabbit…"

She grasped her staff tightly and faced her opponent. The Roger Rabbit recognized her as an enemy and bared its sharp teeth at her.

At that moment, she realized something very important.

(Fighting is scary…)

"Waaaahhh!"

She squealed as the rabbit suddenly leaped and tackled her. It hit her right in the stomach, knocking her back a few feet.

"Owie… that hurt…"

She rubbed her injury. It didn't hurt too badly, more like getting hit by a soccer ball. However, she was surprised that you could even feel pain. You couldn't feel pain in a game was what she thought which brought surprise along with the light pain.

More powerful, though, was the feeling of fear. She looked at the small rabbit and saw the sharp fangs, the ferocious glare and the killing intent. It was a foreign thing to her, something that surpassed all of her expectations.

(It's going to kill me…)

This thought flew into her brain as the beast drew closer to her. Among the panic and fear came the necessity to protect herself. She needed to stop the thing. If she didn't, it would hurt more.

"RAAAHHH!"

"E-Emergency Growth!"

In a fit of panic and fear, Suzu smashed her staff into the ground, casting her strongest emergency spell. A column of vines and wild growth sprang from the ground beneath them, grabbing the Roger Rabbit and trapping it.

Emergency Growth was, as the name suggested, an emergency spell that had a 12 hour cool-down. It summoned a column of vines to completely bind an enemy for 12 seconds and drain a bit of its health.

(I have to kill it to survive.)

This thought flashed in Suzu's mind as she stared at the beast trapped in the column of vines. The foliage wouldn't last long against the fierce attempts of the rabbit to break free. It was now or never.

"T-take this! Heartbeat Arrow! Mad Spirit! Dismissal!"

Gathering her courage, Suzu raised her staff and released a flurry of spells to completely annihilate the Roger Rabbit in moments. After the small explosion that came with her attacks, all that was left was a small crater and a rabbit corpse, which could be looted for its fur or meat.

The fur could be used to make cloth or specific items and the meat could easily be cooked into a meal by a chef. The whole purpose of farming was to collect these items as well as gaining EXP and gold while you do so.

However, Suzu didn't move forward to collect her loot and instead let her shoulders down, falling onto the soft grass beneath.

"That… was pathetic."

She had exhausted about a third of her mana in that flurry of attacks and used her emergency spell, all for one stinking rabbit. She wouldn't be able to keep this up. Solo playing was possible, but as a healer class, it was basically suicide.

Not only that, she had also learned the fear and pain that came with fighting. Her opponent had been but a small, cute bunny yet had proven that such things were not to be underestimated. It'd be fine if she was in the backline of her party, providing heals, but fighting monsters close up wasn't going to work for her.

(In the end… I guess I can't solo after all. Maybe I should go back to the guild and apologize?)

Looking at the deep forest around her, she sat back up and contemplated her situation.

* * *

"It's getting dark, I should go back now…"

After a whole day in the forest, Suzu was only able to defeat 3 more Roger Rabbits, pushing herself to the limits of her HP and MP. She found out a few things in her battles. First of all, the accuracy of her attacks increased if she also aimed with her staff. Otherwise, the spell would be sent flying who knows where and had a low chance of hitting the enemy she wanted to. Second, the pain from her injuries would subside if she healed herself. She was immensely thankful but once her mana had been consumed, she was left with several bruises and scratches. Finally, she also noted that the loot she had gotten would instantly lose weight once she put it into her magical bag of holding, which served as in inventory.

But still, only being able to defeat 4 weak rabbits after a whole day was shameful. She had become less panicked about fighting, now knowing what she was doing, but the fear and pain was still there and she became less and less willing to fight as she went on.

"I guess I'm not cut out for this anyways… I'll go back and apologize…"

Picking up her bag, she slowly trudged back to Big Apple. She needed to hurry as when night came, goblins would show up in the wild zones. However, she didn't feel like running and gloomily trotted on the beaten path that pointed towards her home city.

"Ah… there's someone else here."

As she walked back, she noticed a group of Adventurers going the opposite direction. Perhaps they were hoping to do some night-farming? There were some monsters that only showed up at night so it wasn't uncommon to see players going off with their friends, bringing along a magic lantern. After the Armageddon, not many Adventurers were willing to go out in the dark, because it felt unsafe, but maybe this group was just really brave. Or maybe they were headed towards the dungeon in Boila Forest. Possible, but their armor seemed pretty high-leveled. What would a group of high-level players be doing in mid-level territory?

(Oh well, it doesn't really matter. I should greet them to be friendly. Maybe it'll cheer me up…)

"Good evening. What're you guys doing out here?"

She called out to them, even waving her hand so they could see her in the darkness.

""…""

The group didn't respond and simple walked closer at a steady pace.

(Did they not hear me? But I spoke in a decently loud voice. Maybe I should try to greet them again.)

However, before she could even mutter another word, they responded first.

"Drop everything you have if you don't want to die."

It happened like a flash. Before she knew it, she had been surrounded by three of them, all of which showed wicked, evil smiles.

To her, it happened so fast she could barely comprehend what was happening. However, after a few seconds of thought, she finally understood everything and the new found information hit her hard. She was already quite down from before but this just pushed her into the pits of despair.

They were Player Killers!

Why were they out at night? So that no one would notice their evil deeds like they would in daylight.

Why were they in the mid-level area? To pick off mid-level players who were weak but still had decent equipment.

What were they going to do to her? They would kill her and take all her gold and items.

She wanted to run. She wanted to flee from them as fast as she could and make it back into the safe city where they couldn't attack her. But she couldn't. Not only was she surrounded, her level was much lower than theirs. Also, her hp and mana had been exhausted after a hard day of fighting. She didn't have any strength left to resist…

(Today has really been a bad day hasn't it? But I have no choice… I should hand over my items. Worst case scenario, I'll die and lose a good amount of EXP too. But at least I won't actually die. Besides, I left all my valuable items at the bank so I won't lose too much…)

Looking at their grimacing grins, she could only feel despair.

"O-okay…"

She began to reach into her bag of holding to take out the gold she had on her as well as all the miscellaneous items inside.

(With these, they should leave me alone right?)

However, just as she had taken out most of her inventory, the killers started talking again.

"Oi, wait, this is a chick."

"She's pretty hot too…"

"Mn. Though her breasts are kinda small."

Their glares of killing intent suddenly became those of lust as the three bandits analyzed her body.

In real life, Suzu had a decent figure. She wasn't at the level of being a beauty but she looked after her appearance and was decently attractive. Of course, since this was a game, anything was possible so she had made her avatar similar to herself… but with a few enhancements here and there. Her waist was of a perfect size, she was pretty tall and she had long, slender arms and legs. Her chest was basically non-existent but the slenderness fitted well with the rest of her body and gave her a very athletic feel.

The three of them were definitely judging these things as they gazed at her body, shifting up and down.

(They started talking about some vulgar things… and now they're looking at my body with those eyes…)

Suzu fidgeted nervously as the three gave her more than a normal up-and-down look. Shouldn't they be more interested in the gold that she was holding in her hands?

"Oi, boss. Is it okay if we do what we want with her?

(Do what they want? They're going to kill me right? Or take my gold right?)

Suzu's brain was quickly trying to avoid reality as she tried to think of an excuse for their current actions. It didn't want to admit that the thugs were planning to do what she thought they were planning to do.

Meanwhile, the three bandits looked over to their other member, a sorcerer dressed in an ominous black robe. He was probably their leader.

"We're outside of the city. You can do what you want."

The leader replied with a deadpan voice, devoid of interest. However, the other three took this as an indication of complete approval and once more looked at Suzu.

"Ah…um… hi?"

She tried to back up from their wicked, perverted smiles but it was not long before she remembered that she was surrounded.

"Come here…"

She felt something grazing her butt and she immediately turned to protect herself, but everywhere she tried to escape, someone was blocking her way.

"Don't worry, it'll be over soon."

"We'll be gentle…"

A strong hand grasped her shoulder, keeping her from moving anymore. They had finally all closed in on her with wicked smiles. Another hand reached out and restrained her other arm.

"L-let go…"

"Oh, she's resisting. That's cute."

As much as she tried to struggle, she couldn't exert any power. Their strong high level bodies kept her restrained perfectly.

(I've been caught; it's all over… Where did I go wrong? Should I not have decided to go farming? Should I not have left the guild? No, to begin with it all started because of something as stupid as deciding to play video games. I shouldn't have started to even play this stupid game.)

"Now then, let's get that annoying cloth off."

One of them took out a knife. Against something like that, her weak armor would be cut through like butter. Once again, she tried to shake free but she couldn't do it no matter how hard she tried.

"N-no… stop it. Please…"

(It's over. I'm doomed. Please somebody…anybody… help!)

"And then I said to them, "Don't ever come back to my turf again!" ya know."

"That's the third time you've told me the story about how you protected the school from a gang of delinquents, Akama. I know what happened. I was there."

Almost as if in response to her prayers, two voices abruptly exploded from the nearby forest. Suzu and the bandits stopped and immediately looked over at the direction of the two voices.

"Oi, what's happening over here?"

The one to the right was a guy dressed in a black cloth with red highlights. He had black hair and looked like a mild delinquent rather than a character from medieval fantasy.

"Aren't you guys the thugs from earlier?"

The one to the left was a guy dressed in a dark blue robe. He seemed like your typical mage, but his equipment seemed to be top-class.

"Tch. You're the brats from earlier today."

"Do you want some of this?"

The player killers reluctantly let go of her to face the new arrivals. The two groups seemed to know each other.

"Is this a PK? Seriously? Do guys miss your mommies so much that you've lost all civility?"

"Don't say that, Akama. Some of them might be siscons instead."

The two mildly laughed at the four player killers, angering them tremendously.

"Are you laughing at us? You want to die too?"

"Don't try to be heroes now. We'll skewer you into pieces."

The two groups began to taunt each other, akin to a trash talk session before a basketball game. However, Suzu was less bothered by this as much as she looked at the two new arrivals with hope.

(They're going to save me! I'll be okay!)

Though they didn't seem like much, just the appearance of a hero was enough to make her heart flutter in hope. Even if they couldn't beat the player killers, they should still be able to keep them from doing what they were going to do to her, right? After all, justice will always prevail and these two definitely had to be heroes!

"Don't misunderstand us; we're not here to save her. Go ahead and kill her if you want."

(Never mind, they're monsters too.)

The mage had easily denied any hope that she had for her situation. Does this mean that they weren't going to save her? Were they going to just walk by and leave her to her fate? That was… that was…

(Such bastards! How could they possibly leave a damsel in distress? They're as bad as these thugs. If I find them after all this, I will curse them to the depths of hell.)

"Alright. Then, hurry up and leave here before we kill you too."

Suzu was shaking her head rapidly, trying to use any sign signals to convince them to not leave her alone with these creepoes.

However, the two newcomers weren't paying attention to the frantic girl and was instead smiling wickedly as they peered back at the group of player killers.

"Hold on a second, we never said anything about leaving."

"W-what?"

"Don't you understand? This isn't about saving a girl or stopping your crimes…"

Abruptly, both of them pulled out their weapons from their bags of holding. A sharp sound echoed through the air as the samurai pulled out a wooden sword and the mage opened up his mystical grimoire.

"This battle will be…"

"For Revenge!"

The two of them showed proud faces, as if they had said something cool. However, their intent was real as they respectively gripped their sword or book in earnest.

Immediately afterward though, a soft thud hit the ground. It was the sorcerer, pulling out his own staff, a long ceremonial one that looked frighteningly powerful.

"What are you doing, you idiots? Get into battle formation."

His voice came out with such clear articulacy and power that showed his confidence. Without another word, the bandits had already fallen into a battle formation, moving like puppets under the sorcerer's control. Even with Suzu's lower-than-average knowledge, she could tell that their formation was a good one. Their Guardian stood in the very front with the Assasin a few feet to the left. The back line held the sorcerer and the Kannagi who were about 3 meters away from their teammates, a good range to be able to launch out their attacks and still be safe.

In comparison, the two "heroes" had sloppy formation. They stood next to each other with no regard for front or back line, brandishing their weapons like a team of thugs.

"Don't cry to us, when you guys lose, old man."

"That's our line, you brats. We'll kill you so hard you won't even revive."

The tension grew thicker with each second as the two teams stared at each other before the fight began. They read each other's movements, tested their reactions, tried to find openings. The pre-fight was just as intense as the fight, however… Suzu didn't give a crap.

(For now, I'll just move a little bit away so I can run if anything bad happens…)

* * *

Name: Suzu

Level: 35

Race: Human

Class: Druid

HP: 2647

MP: 2753

Item 1: Fragrant Olive Staff

A staff made out of wood from the Fragrant Olive Tree, a common magical tree. It slightly raises the power of nature-based spells. Suzu had spent most of her fortune to upgrade from her oak wand to this staff.

Item 2: Blue Clover Clip

A simple clip-on accessory that raises MP. It is fashionable among beginners. Guys use it as badges while girls use it as hair-clips.

Item 3: Kitchen Knife

A simple kitchen knife that is given to all beginners with the chef subclass. It can be used in combat but is very fragile and weak.

* * *

**Author's Quick Afterword:**

**Hey guys, Zikari8 here. This chapter ended up being behind schedule because of a project I had. This chapter is probably the darkest I have and will ever get, which can be seen as either good or bad. In this chapter, we have the introduction of Suzu, whom you can bet will be a main character. For the next chapter, we'll have the battle between Akama and Rildeo and the Player Killers. Look forward to it!**


End file.
